Trapped in the Cycle
by Kurai Ummei
Summary: OoT Navi comes across as annoying and vapid, but what if she wasn't? What if it was a complete and utter act? After all, the Hero of Time has been born over and over again, needed a guide in some guise to lead him on, and fairies are conveniently immortal...


a/n: This was inspired by the thought that OoT Navi comes across as annoying and vapid, but what if she wasn't? What if it was a complete and utter act? After all, the Hero of Time has been born over and over again, and fairies theoretically live forever... is Midna another version of Navi? Are all of Link's many guides the same soul in many forms; just as Link, Zelda, and Gannondorf are the same chosen ones, destined to fight time and time again? Maybe.

*In the hollow of a maple tree in the Great Deku Tree's clearing, Kokiri Forest*

Glassy blue eyes contemplated their distended reflection, a single drop of water balanced on a leaf's edge making an impromptu mirror. Minutes passed but the reflection never changed, bags of sleeplessness weighing heavy beneath slanted fae eyes; opaque colored bangs hanging limply from miscare. Finally a long sigh escaped the 3 inch tall fairy and she turned away. Navi looked like hell and she knew it, hell, all of the local faries knew it... but none of them could blame her. Today was the day, after all.

Time to 'meet' Link... again.

To guide his newest reincarnation all over Goddess-forsaken Hyrule... again.

To save the people from Gannondorf... again.

A soft knock-knock drew her attention to a visitor outside the knook's opening, a second glow lighting up the maple tree's hollow as Saria's fairy leaned inside.

"Heeeeey, Navi... thought I'd stop by and say hi. Brought you some breakfast..." trailed off the softly speaking visitor. Navi dregged out a half smile for the girl's thoughtfulness, taking the summer-ripe raspberry she offered.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm about to leave for... for...," Navi took a breath and tried again, " for his house, but maybe you and I can catch up when we come back for the Forest Temple. " It was out of Navi's mouth before she remembered what sort of loss that would mean for her friend, and she nearly kicked herself for mentioning it.

"Yeah. I... I would like that." the other fairy offered lamely, and they shared a long miserable moment of silence before Saria's fairy gave her a soft smile. "See you then." Navi could only manage another half smile in farewell, turning to pull a few mini-berry balls of fruit from the raspberry gift. A few bites later, she resolutely stepped out and took to the sky. The Great Deku Tree watched her go, knowing he would see her again shortly.

*Link's Treehouse, Kokiri Forest*

The sun was just begining to peak over the horizon of tree tops, dawn having just passed, when Navi arrived at her destination. She alighted on the edge of a balcony, and stared into the unassuming blackness of the doorway. Soft snoring could be heard intermittantly, along with the distant buzzing of insects and twitter of bird song. It was a deceptively charming scene until one looked closer at the haggard expression on the fairy's miniature, lovely face.

'Okay, let's just... get this over with.', Navi thought to herself, and then she began her 'ceremony' as she liked to call it. It was the same internal ritual she had done countless times before, and it had served her well to temporarily become the guide that was needed. The tiny fae began by breathing deeply, and one by one she started moving mental pieces of herself into a lock-box in a quiet corner of her mind. In went her personality first, her hobbies and personal interests. Next went into hiding as much of her intelligence as she could bear, eons and ages of articulacy and wit carefully packed inside. Last of all, and the most loathe to be put away, was her concious and judgement.

'I think that's it, I guess.' came the uncertain thought from the remains of her mind, turning like broken clock-work from the mental self-mutilation she had just undergone to make herself acceptable to accompany the boy. For a moment, she was filled with anger. Anger at herself for needing to become broken to do her job, at fate for making the job hers, and at her own newly limited brain function. Not at the boy though, not at Link. The upset was fleeting however, in a personality lacking mind, and the fairy blinked daftly and stood there forgetfully for a moment before taking off into the treehouse.

"Hello, Link! Wake up!" No reply came, only more snoring. "The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you! Link, get up!" It was amazing, the amount of noise such a small boy could produce from his nose while unconcious. "Hey! C'mon! Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?" Blue eyes opened reluctantly, peering fuzzily at the shimmering ball of blue light. The vapid smile on Navi's face the first thing Link saw that morning.

*The Great Deku Tree's clearing, Kokiri Forest*

Navi clung to the green wool of Link's hat as he stumbled to the ground in front of the Greak Deku Tree. The boy hero was down for but a moment before he whirled to look up at the dying forest guardian, hope beyond hope in his eyes that their efforts and defeat of Gohma would save the tree's life. The gray pallor and shallow breathing of the behemoth tree was enough to douse the light in those blue eyes. If Navi hadn't watched this play out before in so many different ways, with so many different versions of the forest guardian, she might have felt the same. Instead, she simply let her normal dispondancy show through, which passed for sorrow well enough. The dying tree and boy talked for a time, and after much ado the guardian passed on, and Link turned to leave the clearing. The 3 inch fairy trailed behind him and paused for a moment at the exit.

"Good-bye...Great Deku Tree..." She managed, trying to show some modicrum of respect for the loving father that had sentenced her to this eternal career.

*Courtyard of Hyrule Castle, Castle Town*

After days of magic induced sleeping as Link acquired his bearings outside the forest, they finaly made it to castle town and into the castle. Navi had awoken at the slightest hint of danger and shouted loud, obvious advice at the boy till he fumbled his way through enough sword play to be dangerous. After that, it was back to lazing about under his hat as the hero-to-be discovered the wonders of city life, and figured out how to get inside the castle itself. Today though, today was thankfully different. This morning Link had slowly but surely crept passed the many guards and made his way to the Princess Zelda. Navi was almost something akin to happy to see her again, loving the brilliant girl that always saw past her mask of twittering idocy no matter how many reincarnations she'd been through. They walked into the courtyard sometime in the afternoon, and Zelda spun from the window she was surrupticiously watching royal court happenings through at the noise. Sky blue eyes met ocean blue over the grass and cobble stone.

"Who?! Who are you? How did you get past the guards?" Zelda exclaimed, playing her part of the unknowing and innocent Princess perfectly. She glaced up at the glowing fairy that circled Link's head, "Oh? What's that? Is that...a fairy?! Then, are you... Are you from the forest? Then...then...you wouldn't happen to have... the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?! That green and shining stone... Do you have it?"

'Wow. Just wow.' Navi rolled her eyes, amazed that her highness could keep up the act of not knowing who the boy was so perfectly. Of course she knew, he'd come to her castle countless times over endless ages to assist her with a certain problematic man's scheming. The Triforce of Wisdom sparkled on her hand, and the Ocarina of Time's taletell bulge poked out from a pouch on her sash. She continued her charade at Link's relectant nod.

"Just as I thought! I had a dream...In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... " Link stood at rapt attention, listening to her every word as she went on, but the Princess of Destiny's focus had strayed up to meet glassy blue fairy eyes just above the boy's shoulder. A look of wordless greeting and knowledge passed between them. Navi dregged up a half smile for the lovely girl, just as much her friend as Saria's fairy was, after they'd somehow discovered that the other also remembered each loop of their cyclic destiny. It had been the first cycle that Navi had given up caring and had just slept in a magic induced haze in Link's hat that Zelda began to notice. By chance, or perhaps choice, Zelda spent half her time as Sheik during the 7 dark years sitting with Navi in the empty sword chamber behind the door of time. They quickly figured each other out. Zelda was ecstatic to find someone else that remembered these repeating events, and even more so to hear from the Hero's guide that all the forest faries, Great Faries, some Kokiri that paid enough attention, and Dark Link did too.

"... and we must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce!" her Highness' speech was finally coming to a close, as Impa came up from the shadows to stand by the entryway. "I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it! You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him! One more thing... Take this letter... I'm sure it will be helpful to you." Zelda finished, and shooed Link off to her Sheikah protector. Navi proceeded to sneakily fall back from Link and fly over to her.

"Navi... it's so good to see you again." She smiled warmly. "I had a question for you, actually."

"Oh?" replied the tiny fairy, bobbing in midair and chiming in greeting, letting open the lock-box of self in her mind.

"I believe I may be on to something, tell me, what you remember the most recent cycles being?" Tiny light blue eyebrows furrowed at the question, thinking back.

"Well Zelly, I think... last time I saw Link I was doing my whole amnesia gig as Ceila, and we did the hourglass loop." Zelda's lullaby drifted back into the coutyard as Impa began teaching the ancient meledy to the boy in green.

"Before that Saria's fairy and I were tag-teaming as Tatl and Tael in Termina." Her Highness let out a small huff of annoyance, her gaze a million miles away deep in thought. A complex thought at that, to require the Goddesses' chosen holder of Wisdom stop and think.

"Navi, the last cycle I remember was the Twilight incident, and before that watching Link save the Oracle of Seasons." The fairy blinked in confusion several times, trying to figure all that in with the timeline in her mind.

"But that's impossible, the Hyrule was flooded for the longest time and... why doesn't it match up? What are you on to?" Zelda winced as the glare from a deku nut flashed around the corner to the entry hall.

"I'm looking into a way to end these cycles, permanently, but... It looks like our time is already up my fairy friend. You had best catch up to Link before he goes far, we'll have plenty of time to discuss this in a few months. I have some research to do in the Royal Library in the mean time..." Navi nodded, wanting nothing more then to stay and continue that fantastic train of thought, but rushed away in the flown equivalent of a sprint to catch up before the deku nut wore off. A new 'skip' in her flight as she did so.

Back in the courtyard the Princess of Destiny used a spell she'd learned over 3000 years ago inside a jungle ruin to turn invisible, and sat in the windowsill overlooking the throne room. Gannandorf remained bowed, supplicating, offering honeyed lies to her father the king.

end.

a/n: So I took a random idea of Navi plot... and made this... whatever it is. Had no idea it would go there, but I hope you liked it. If anyone wants to concept steal and make a real story out of this, go for it. Cheers.


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